An effort to begin phasing out a temporary sales tax that is set to expire in 2025 is dead for the legislative session. The .45-percent sales generates about 400-million dollars in tax revenue for the state and Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau says the state can use that money on major projects.
“We are spending this on non-recurring expenses lot of this money, things like money going toward a Baton Rouge bridge, I don’t live in Baton Rouge, but we need it,” said Luneau. “So to me that is why this doesn’t make sense.”
Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala’s bill proposed to begin reducing the temporary sales tax in 2023. Bacala says the goal of his legislation is to prevent a sharp drop off in revenue and a significant budget shortfall. But Norco Senator Gary Smith says Bacala’s proposal will actually cause more financial problems.
“It’s just giving the money back and it’s going to put us in the unfortunate position for having to come back when this federal money dries up and the hurricane money and the spending stops and we are going to be facing the cliff sooner than later,” said Smith.
Smith is concerned Bacala’s bill will produce budget deficits when a new governor and legislature takes office in 2024.
“We should be able to wise enough to do that without tying are hands or the future legislature’s hands when they get here next term they go, we had this money but our hands are tied,” said Smith.
The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee rejected the House-approved bill.
Comments